A new poll has shown that Gordon Brown is the most unpopular British Prime Minister since polling began (it began in 1943).
Remarkably, Brown's (and the Government's) approval rating of just 23% is even lower than Michael Foot, who was leader of the Labour Party when it was trounced in 1983 by Margaret Thatcher's Tory Party in a landslide General Election victory.
The Tories lead by a wide margin in the polls - they are on 45% - and the Liberal Democrats are on 17%
If the poll's findings were repeated in a General Election, the Tories would sweep to power in a landslide. Tory leader David Cameron would have a majority of 220 seats, even beating Tony Blair's majority of 179 after his landslide victory in 1997. The Tories would gain 237 seats, of which 200 would come from Labour.
If Gordon Brown is sacked as Prime Minister by his party, then Alan Johnson is the favourite to be the new Prime Minister.
Brown the most unpopular PM since polling began - and half want him to quit now
By Glen Owen
10th May 2009
Daily Mail
Time to go: Gordon Brown presides over a disgraced Government
The MPs' expenses scandal has helped to drive support for Labour to the lowest level since opinion polls began in 1943, a devastating new survey has revealed.
A BPIX poll for The Mail on Sunday says the party is supported by just 23 per cent of voters, a stunning 22 points behind the Conservatives' figure of 45 per cent. The Liberal Democrats were on 17.
Former postman Alan Johnson will be favourite to become new Prime Minister if Brown is ousted
If the poll's findings were repeated in a General Election, Tory leader David Cameron would have a majority of 220 seats, beating Tony Blair's majority of 179 after his landslide victory in 1997. The Tories would gain 237 seats, of which 200 would come from Labour.
The figures make particularly bleak reading for Gordon Brown: even with Michael Foot as its leader (1980-1983), Labour support did not fall below 23.5 per cent.
The results of the poll, which was carried out on Thursday and Friday, could have been even worse for Mr Brown. The scandal over MPs' expenses erupted on Friday, so only half of those polled were aware of it when they gave their opinions.
Unpopular: Michael Foot was leader of the Labour Party in 1983 when they were defeated by a landslide margin by Margaret Thatcher in that year's General Election. Brown is even more unpopular.
Although all parties have been tarnished by the revelations over expenses, Labour has borne the brunt of public anger.
The survey shows that, for the first time, a majority of voters - 52 per cent - believe Mr Brown should stand down as Prime Minister.
If he does go, Health Secretary Alan Johnson is favourite to take over.
He and Justice Secretary Jack Straw are joint top of a list of potential successors in our survey - with 11 per cent each - but Mr Johnson is the runaway favourite among Labour MPs to win a leadership contest.
His image has been enhanced by the expenses scandal: his claims were largely limited to modest rental costs for a second home in his Hull constituency.
The shocking news for the Prime Minister is reflected in his dire personal ratings.
The proportion of people who think he is doing a 'very good' or 'fairly good' job is just 24 per cent, compared with 53 per cent for Mr Cameron. A whopping 72 per cent think Mr Brown is doing a 'fairly bad' or 'very bad' job.
Margaret Thatcher wins a second term in power in 1983, after comprehensively defeating Michael Foot's Labour Party in the election. Brown is even more unpopular than Foot
A Sunday Times poll today showed Brown was heading for a humiliating third place in next month's elections.
A survey by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, the election experts, shows Labour is trailing the Tories and the Lib Dems as it goes into the June 4 local authority vote.
They predict Labour will lose all four of the councils it controls and half of the 500 seats it is defending - adding more pressure for a challenge to Brown's leadership.
Labour's ratings are the lowest since modern opinion poll techniques were introduced in 1943. Before Mr Brown took over, the party's lowest rating - 23.5 per cent - came in 1983 when Michael Foot led a party riven with in-fighting.
When Labour won in 1997, its share of the vote was 43 per cent. But its opinion-poll rating was 33 per cent when Mr Blair left No10 in 2007.
Mr Brown had a brief honeymoon period, hitting 43 per cent in September 2007, but apart from a brief 'Brown bounce' after last autumn's banking crisis, his popularity has gone downhill ever since.
• BPIX interviewed 2,246 people on Thursday and Friday.
dailymail.co.uk
Remarkably, Brown's (and the Government's) approval rating of just 23% is even lower than Michael Foot, who was leader of the Labour Party when it was trounced in 1983 by Margaret Thatcher's Tory Party in a landslide General Election victory.
The Tories lead by a wide margin in the polls - they are on 45% - and the Liberal Democrats are on 17%
If the poll's findings were repeated in a General Election, the Tories would sweep to power in a landslide. Tory leader David Cameron would have a majority of 220 seats, even beating Tony Blair's majority of 179 after his landslide victory in 1997. The Tories would gain 237 seats, of which 200 would come from Labour.
If Gordon Brown is sacked as Prime Minister by his party, then Alan Johnson is the favourite to be the new Prime Minister.
Brown the most unpopular PM since polling began - and half want him to quit now
By Glen Owen
10th May 2009
Daily Mail
Time to go: Gordon Brown presides over a disgraced Government
The MPs' expenses scandal has helped to drive support for Labour to the lowest level since opinion polls began in 1943, a devastating new survey has revealed.
A BPIX poll for The Mail on Sunday says the party is supported by just 23 per cent of voters, a stunning 22 points behind the Conservatives' figure of 45 per cent. The Liberal Democrats were on 17.
Former postman Alan Johnson will be favourite to become new Prime Minister if Brown is ousted
If the poll's findings were repeated in a General Election, Tory leader David Cameron would have a majority of 220 seats, beating Tony Blair's majority of 179 after his landslide victory in 1997. The Tories would gain 237 seats, of which 200 would come from Labour.
The figures make particularly bleak reading for Gordon Brown: even with Michael Foot as its leader (1980-1983), Labour support did not fall below 23.5 per cent.
The results of the poll, which was carried out on Thursday and Friday, could have been even worse for Mr Brown. The scandal over MPs' expenses erupted on Friday, so only half of those polled were aware of it when they gave their opinions.
Unpopular: Michael Foot was leader of the Labour Party in 1983 when they were defeated by a landslide margin by Margaret Thatcher in that year's General Election. Brown is even more unpopular.
Although all parties have been tarnished by the revelations over expenses, Labour has borne the brunt of public anger.
The survey shows that, for the first time, a majority of voters - 52 per cent - believe Mr Brown should stand down as Prime Minister.
If he does go, Health Secretary Alan Johnson is favourite to take over.
He and Justice Secretary Jack Straw are joint top of a list of potential successors in our survey - with 11 per cent each - but Mr Johnson is the runaway favourite among Labour MPs to win a leadership contest.
His image has been enhanced by the expenses scandal: his claims were largely limited to modest rental costs for a second home in his Hull constituency.
The shocking news for the Prime Minister is reflected in his dire personal ratings.
The proportion of people who think he is doing a 'very good' or 'fairly good' job is just 24 per cent, compared with 53 per cent for Mr Cameron. A whopping 72 per cent think Mr Brown is doing a 'fairly bad' or 'very bad' job.
Margaret Thatcher wins a second term in power in 1983, after comprehensively defeating Michael Foot's Labour Party in the election. Brown is even more unpopular than Foot
A Sunday Times poll today showed Brown was heading for a humiliating third place in next month's elections.
A survey by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, the election experts, shows Labour is trailing the Tories and the Lib Dems as it goes into the June 4 local authority vote.
They predict Labour will lose all four of the councils it controls and half of the 500 seats it is defending - adding more pressure for a challenge to Brown's leadership.
Labour's ratings are the lowest since modern opinion poll techniques were introduced in 1943. Before Mr Brown took over, the party's lowest rating - 23.5 per cent - came in 1983 when Michael Foot led a party riven with in-fighting.
When Labour won in 1997, its share of the vote was 43 per cent. But its opinion-poll rating was 33 per cent when Mr Blair left No10 in 2007.
Mr Brown had a brief honeymoon period, hitting 43 per cent in September 2007, but apart from a brief 'Brown bounce' after last autumn's banking crisis, his popularity has gone downhill ever since.
• BPIX interviewed 2,246 people on Thursday and Friday.
dailymail.co.uk
Last edited:
